


After The Gloaming

by Mhalachai



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Extremis, Gen, Post-Movie(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-01
Updated: 2015-03-01
Packaged: 2018-03-15 21:43:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3463091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mhalachai/pseuds/Mhalachai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Given the very long, very bad day she’s just had, Pepper isn’t sure how much longer she’s going to be able to hold it together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	After The Gloaming

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Laimelde](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laimelde/gifts).



> Begins immediately after the end of the body of Iron Man 3 (but before the voice-over ending by Tony). 
> 
> _Alternative title_ : Pepper Potts and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

* * *

The Iron Man suits had finished their pyrotechnics display long before the big black helicopters started chopping at the horizon. Pepper, who didn't trust Tony's assurances that she would not burst into flames at any moment, sat next to a large metal container, far away from any source of combustion, while Tony strode over to handle their suspicious rescuers. The midnight tide was rising under the docks, and the _lap-lap_ of the waves was almost enough to mask the rumble of voices, the edge in the tone of the rescue squad (Army, maybe, or Air Force; Pepper wasn't well-versed in who wore which special ops uniform) and the higher, pointed snap and spin of Tony's responses.

The wind coming off the ocean carried with it the stink of old fuel from the _Norco_ wreck, and a quieter note of char and metal. Pepper pulled her legs up to her chest and rested her chin on her knee. All she could smell now was the acrid smoke from the wreck, from the fall (she did not want to think about the fall), from fighting Aldrich Killian (she _really_ did not want to think about Killian). But that was fine. She was fine.

Over in the knot of people, Tony's voice was rising. Pepper wondered if she should go run interference. But no. She wasn't Tony's PA any more. She was the CEO of Stark Industries, and she had had a _really shitty day_. As long as no one was going to shoot Tony, she'd let him be.

(She wondered, if someone did try to shoot Tony while he was out of the suit, if she could now stop the bullet.)

So while Tony entertained the troops in his special way, Pepper took an inventory of the things she knew.

Aldrich Killian was dead. She was very sure of that; the blast she'd delivered from the gauntlet had blown the man to pieces. She was also pretty sure that nothing, not even Aldrich Killian, was coming back from that one.

Even so, that knowledge tasted like old pennies on the back of her tongue.

Maya Hansen was dead. Tony had told her that Killian shot the woman while Tony had been zap-strapped to a metal bed frame. About that, Pepper felt very little. She supposed that when everything flattened out, and supposing that she did not self-combust in the meantime, she'd feel something about Dr. Hansen's death, but now… nothing.

She wondered if Extremis was messing with her brain, like it had messed with everything else. Scents were sharper, the darkness out past the dock's lights not as impenetrable as Pepper supposed it should be. Tony and the Army guys were far enough away that Pepper shouldn't have been able to hear them at all. Maybe, the Extremis that had helped her kill Killian was blunting her feelings.

Maybe soon she wouldn't be _Pepper_ , any more.

Focus, she told herself sternly, and took in three deep breaths of the thick air. She didn't know if Killian had turned into the Mandarin because of Extremis, or if he'd turned to Extremis because what made him into the Mandarin was there all along, but Pepper would be damned if she let Killian hurt her any more.

Overhead, a familiar whoosh, and the War Machine suit landed just behind Tony. Pepper tensed, waiting to see who was in the suit, then relaxed as the visor popped open and James Rhodes looked out at the scene.

"Hey," said Tony, half-turning to his friend. "You speak jar-head? Get over here."

Behind Tony, the solider at the head of the phalanx straightened up and saluted Rhodey with a smart, "Colonel Rhodes."

Rhodey gave a nod back. "The President is safe," he said, and the tension in the air faded by half. "Captain, I'd like a report in five minutes on the scene."

Tony had now turned his back on the soldiers and was looking at Rhodey; they went back and forth with one of their usual silent glaring conversations, and then Rhodey was walking in Pepper's direction while Tony directed the soldiers to go look for body parts. Pepper vaguely thought she ought to move away from Rhodey; she hadn't hurt Tony earlier, but what if she accidentally set Rhodey on fire? Could the suit protect him?

He stopped a few feet away. "Hey. Merry Christmas."

"Hey," Pepper said, pushing her hair back out of her eyes. "Did Killian hurt you?"

"Not too much." Rhodey shrugged, no mean feat in the armor. "Although he was breathing fire at one point. What kind of asshole breathes fire?"

"He tried to take over the world," Pepper pointed out. A curious trembling was working its way down her limbs. "Of course he breathed fire."

"Yeah." Rhodey took a few steps closer and knelt down. "Jarvis got in touch with me a few minutes ago. He told me that you took out Killian."

Now the trembling was worming into her guts, cool and nauseating. Pepper looked at her hands; she wasn't glowing, so she hoped that this was just a reaction and not the precursor to self-immolation. "Rhodey," she said, "I'll buy you that Maserati you wanted for your birthday if we don't have to talk about Aldrich Killian right now."

"Understood." With a creak, Rhodey stood up and offered Pepper his hand.

Her hands were still not glowing, and she didn't feel that inner heat like she had earlier, when she fell (she didn't want to think about falling) and when she'd kicked the crap out of Killian. Reaching out, Pepper took Rhodey's hand, and used the stability of the suit to pull herself to her feet.

Of course, this left her standing exposed in a bra and leggings. The only thing Pepper could think of to be grateful for was that there were no paparazzi around.

"What do you need?" Rhodey asked quietly.

Pepper let go of his hand, just in case the Extremis went crazy and made her heat up again. "To get out of here," she said, crossing her arms over her stomach. "Then a phone to call my secretary to try to stem SI stock from tanking. What time is it?"

"Nearly two."

It was Christmas morning; the markets would be closed, but the fall-out from the Mandarin would continue to impact the markets when they re-opened. After being out of contact from Stark Industries so soon after the attack on the Malibu house (because she had been kidnapped and experimented on by an international terrorist, Pepper reminded herself), SI stock could be going crazy.

"I need a phone," Pepper said again, feeling a bit more like herself. "And a hamburger. And a jacket."

Rhodey was looking at Pepper with a satisfied smile. "The helicopter will take you and Tony to Tampa, you can get some sleep there until the Stark jet comes to get you."

"I'm not tired," Pepper said, the shivering cold in her belly coalescing into a spot of heat. "I'm _pissed off_. They tried to kill Happy, they tried to kill Tony, now I have to deal with the fallout of this disaster and I have _nothing._ "

The impact of the destruction of the house in Malibu, combined with being kidnapped by Aldrich Killian, finally came home to Pepper. All her clothes, her papers and notes and briefings, all her family photos and her keepsakes and her books. Everything was gone.

The flames in her belly wrapped their way up around her heart. The air she breathed suddenly grew warm and Pepper could see the faintest glow starting in her hands.

Worst of all, Rhodey took one step back.

"I'm fine," she said quickly, telling herself to breathe, to calm _down_. She had spent years dealing with Tony Stark at his most destructive, with the Stark board and their condescension and disbelief when she'd taken over as CEO, with the press and the investors and the regulators. She would keep her self-control so _she would not set everyone around her on fire_. "I'm fine."

Already, the glow was fading from her skin, and Rhodey relaxed slightly. "We'll get you taken care of," he said, and then Tony was there, looking all worried and rumpled and _Tony_.

"Hey," he said, shoving a thick army jacket in Pepper's direction. "Unless you want to walk for days through the everglades, let's go steal a helicopter and get out of here."

"No," Rhodey immediately contradicted as Pepper put on the jacket. "You cannot steal a helicopter."

"Can too."

"Can you even fly a helicopter?"

"I can pilot anything, including that tin can you're wearing."

With a sigh, Pepper walked around the men and made her way over to the helicopter. The soldiers were eyeing her with a mix of pity and distraction which, while infuriating, was also only explicable if Rhodey had neglected to mention that she could set the helicopter on fire with her sheer presence.

Oh yeah, Rhodey was definitely getting that Maserati for his birthday.

Pepper ghosted a smile at the helicopter pilot as she crawled into the back seat. Tony joined her, bumping his knee against her leg, his shoulder against her arm, and she put her hand around his, feeling the familiar calluses on his fingers, the strength there as he squeezed her hand.

"Rhodey said I need to get you a hamburger and a phone," he said in her ear, his breath warm on her cheek.

"And a shower," Pepper said, gently shaking herself loose to reach for the seatbelt. "I smell like a house fire."

"A very attractive house fire," Tony said, then, "Ow," as Pepper elbowed him in the ribs. "Can we get fries too?"

"Curly fries," Pepper agreed. The helicopter doors closed and the whir of the helicopter blade picked up; the noise filled Pepper's ears with a harsh trill and she leaned forward, trying to block out the sound with her hands. She could feel Tony's hand on her back, his voice muffled in her ear. Gritting her teeth, she took her hands away from her ears and instead tucked her fingers under her legs, breathing deep, trying to stay calm, stay collected, as the helicopter took to the air.

Pepper may have spent the last few days living in terror, have had her friends attacked and her house destroyed, but she was _not_ going to let Aldrich Killian take anything else from her. Once the helicopter landed, she was going to shower, eat, then set about putting her world back in order.

Aldrich Killian could burn in the hell he deserved.

* * *

In Tampa, the helicopter landed at MacDill Air Force Base. Tony and Pepper were taken to base housing, whereTony convinced the airman to drive into town to pick up some hamburgers. The clean-cut young man refused Tony's soot-covered fifty as he let the door close behind him on his Christmas Day mission.

"Was I ever that young?" Tony asked the air.

"No." Pepper stripped out of the sports bra and leggings on her way to the bathroom. "I won't be long."

"Take your time," Tony called as Pepper shut the bathroom door behind her. The military base bathroom was depressingly spartan, but clean. Grabbing the small wrapped soap off the counter, Pepper stepped into the shower and turned the water on as hot as it would go. At this time of night, the hot water came easily, and Pepper scrubbed furiously at the dirt and soot on her skin. Her stomach was growling with hunger and she was thirsty, but more than anything, she needed to be clean.

As she washed, she took stock of her own body. Everything was where it was supposed to be, no extra fingers or toes or whatever else Extremis might grow on a person. Her arm hair hadn't burned off in the fire, which was mildly confusing, but then Killian hadn't felt like explaining the mechanics behind Extremis when he was injecting her with it.

Pepper could remember the way he'd stroked her arm when she was tied down, how he'd smiled when she was screaming during the Extremis injection, and for a few minutes she thought she might throw up.

But he was dead. Pepper had killed him. Even Extremis could not undo the damage Pepper had done to that man's body, and she couldn't even begin to be sorry.

He was dead and she wasn't, Pepper told herself, and that was all there was to it.

She washed her hair with the bar of soap, wondering idly how exactly Extremis made hair fireproof. When she was finished, she turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, wrapped a towel around her body, and went into the bedroom.

Tony was watching the news and talking to Jarvis on his headset. A large takeout bag sat on the tiny table, along with several pieces of folded clothing. Pepper didn't even stop to get dressed, just tore into the bag and grabbed a hamburger.

"And we're eating now," Tony said, scrambling after her. "Jarvis says hi, by the way."

"Hi," Pepper said with a full mouth. She swallowed, then leaned closer to the headset. "It's good to hear from you, Jarvis."

"And you as well," came Jarvis's voice. "Ms. Potts, I was in the process of telling Mr. Stark that the hospital has upgraded Mr. Hogan's condition. He continues to improve."

A wave of relief washed over Pepper. Happy was getting better. Counting that as one blessing in this day, she took another bite of her hamburger and asked, "What are you working on?"

"Everything." Tony gestured and the view screen popped up in front of his eyes. "Rhodey's off to arrest the Vice President, I'm learning everything there is to know about biomechanical engineering, and Jarvis is reviewing the work on the house."

"The engineers are of the opinion that the cliff may have been destabilized during the attack," Jarvis said. "Rebuilding will require a full geological analysis."

Pepper put the last bite of burger into her mouth. "I'm sorry," she said.

Tony shrugged. "It's a house. I've got others. It's not the first time I've had a place blown up."

"Work isn't finished quite yet on Stark Tower," Pepper pointed out, moving across the room to the pile of clothing. "And I have to be in LA for the Board of Directors meeting the week after New Year's."

The silence didn't register until Pepper was snuggly ensconced in the overly large Air Force sweatpants and sweatshirt. She turned around to find Tony staring at her. "You're still going to that meeting?"

"Unless something's changed in the last twenty-for hours, it's still my job." Pepper picked up a soda from the table and took a long drink. Watered-down take-out soda had never tasted so good.

"It's just that most people who'd been kidnapped by the world's most wanted terrorist would use the excuse to take a week off," Tony pointed out.

"I'll take a week off after the board meeting." Pepper picked up the take-out bag and carried it over to the bed, dropping down beside Tony. "Unless I'm going to burst into flames and take the board out with me."

"Nah," Tony said, grabbing a handful of fries. "I've been looking into Maya's research and if you didn't explode while taking out Killian, you're probably good for at least five board meetings and two explosions in R&D."

Pepper looked up sharply, not sure if he was being serious. Jarvis intervened. "There is no indication that such an event will occur," said the AI soothingly. "The primary stressors of elevated blood pressure, heart rate and adrenaline are unlikely to be raised as high as in a physical encounter of the sort at the _Norco_."

"You've never been to a Stark board meeting," Pepper said under her breath. She shook her head. "Fine. I need to call Marissa and then I'm going to sleep for three days."

"Oh." Tony's expression was one of apprehension, which was quite unlike Tony Stark indeed. "Yeah. Yeah, you go do that."

Pepper leaned forward, pressing her forehead against Tony's neck. "Tony, I need this day to be over, okay?"

"Okay." Tony cupped the back of her head gently with his hand. "I'm going to find a way to fix this, Pepper. I will."

Something in Pepper's chest relaxed at his words. _Fix this_ , he'd said. Not, _fix her._

There was nothing wrong with Pepper, and she knew that. She hadn't been broken by what Aldrich Killian had done to her. And hearing Tony say that, made the noise in Pepper's head quiet down, just a little.

She let out a long sigh. "I really do have to call Marissa."

"Of course." Tony pulled back far enough to kiss her forehead. "It's past one in the morning in LA."

"Like you never woke me up on Christmas morning when I was your PA?"

"That's what the hazard pay was for," Tony pointed out as Pepper sat up. Stealing the last hamburger, Pepper went over to pick up the phone by the wall. She was so tired she could barely see straight, but she needed to figure out what was happening with the company, and what needed to be done to keep things away from a PR disaster.

Then, she could sleep.

* * *

Pepper woke slowly. The bed was uncomfortably hard and the sheets scratchy, and the combined sensation with the light coming through the curtains pulled Pepper back to consciousness.

Blinking up at the ceiling, Pepper sighed. She remembered everything about the last few days with crystal clarity. Apparently, Extremis did not come with a side effect of temporary amnesia.

Kicking her way free of the blankets, Pepper sat up. The room was empty, but beside her on the bed was Tony's headset and a note.

 

> _Pepper, light of my life, Rhodey came by and I have to go explain why I nearly blew up an oil tanker on my way to restoring world peace. Luckily I have the President on my side (who thought **that** would ever happen?) Sleep tight. You can get Jarvis on the headset._
> 
> _merry hoho XOXOXOXO tony_

Pepper looked at the clock. It was just past noon; she'd slept for nearly nine hours. She felt like she could sleep for another few days, but unfortunately, she had responsibilities that she would not let Extremis interrupt.

Reaching for the headset, Pepper touched the activation button. "Hi, Jarvis."

"Ms. Potts, good morning and Merry Christmas. Mr. Stark has left breakfast for you on the table."

Pepper looked over to see a small stack of protein bars. "Good. What's going on?"

"Mr. Stark is with military representatives, answering questions regarding the events of last evening," Jarvis explained. "He is with Colonel Rhodes. Vice President Rodriguez has been arrested for conspiring against the President. Aldrich Killian's remains have been identified and are on the way to the morgue. And Agent Romanoff left a message indicating that she needs to speak with you at your earliest convenience."

Pepper stood. "Pull up my stock reports, I'll be back." She pulled the headset off as she went into the bathroom. A few minutes later, she returned, picking up the headset on her way over to the grocery bag. The headset's transparent view screen was lit up with the weekly stock results, and Pepper was heartened to see that the SI stock had closed only a few points below where it had been before this disaster began, having recovered from the dip it had taken after the house had been blown up and Tony disappeared.

With any luck, the reports of the death of the Mandarin would help the stock's recovery when the markets opened after the holidays.

Pepper signed off on the stock reports, ignored the icon telling her she had three hundred and seven unread emails, and called Natasha on Jarvis's secure line. The woman answered on the second ring with, "How are you?"

"I'm told I'll live," Pepper said, lying down on the hard mattress. She and Natasha Romanoff were not friends, exactly, but after everything that had happened, Pepper could rely on the woman for a certain amount of honesty and straight-talk. "How much do you know?"

"The Mandarin is dead, or in the Miami secure psych ward, depending on who you talk to, and the President's alive," Natasha said dryly. "Tony's telling everyone that Iron Man killed Aldrich Killian."

Pepper bit her lip. "Is that going to be a problem for him?"

"Are you kidding? Iron Man taking out the Mandarin? The President will probably give him another medal," Natasha said, sounding amused. "SHIELD got a copy of the surveillance footage in the _Norco_ , however."

Pepper went still. She'd been in too much pain at the time to care, but Killian had been filming her as she'd been injected with Extremis. And now if SHIELD had that footage…

Keeping her voice even, Pepper said, "So what happens now?"

"SHIELD sent Deputy Director Maria Hill to MacDill, she's in the briefing with Tony and Rhodey," Natasha said. "Have you met Maria?"

"No," Pepper said. "Tony said she was on the Helicarrier when the Chirauri attacked."

"She's Fury's right hand," Natasha said. "She's the best person to have in the room." The woman fell silent for a long moment. "What really happened, Pepper?"

Pepper lifted her hands to look at them in the light; they appeared normal, but they weren't. She wasn't normal any more. The previous night, she'd gone after Killian and she hadn't even thought twice about how she was stronger, faster.

And she had killed somebody.

Pushing down the lump in her throat, Pepper told Natasha everything that had happened after the Mandarin's helicopters attacked the Malibu house. When she got to the part where Killian had injected her with Extremis, her voice cracked and she stopped talking.

"It's okay," Natasha said in what she probably thought was a soothing tone. "You survived it."

"I know." Pepper rolled onto her side and pulled her knees up to her chest. She wanted to cry, that might make things easier, but no tears would come. Maybe Extremis had burned that part of her away. "I told Tony I was fine."

"Are you?"

"No." Pepper balled up her hand in the bedcovers. "I want to be. I don't have time for this."

"Will you take some advice?"

"What is it?"

"You survived yesterday, and all you need to do is make it through today," Natasha said, the light note of understanding almost more than Pepper could stand.

"What happens tomorrow?"

"You tell yourself the same thing, and do it all over again."

Pepper closed her eyes. "I don't want to hurt anyone," she whispered.

"Then don't." Natasha's voice took on a steely edge. "You're Pepper Potts. You do what needs to be done. So get up and do that."

"This is a very strange pep talk," Pepper said, but she opened her eyes and sat up.

"I'll send you a Hallmark card next week." Natasha paused. "I got a message from Hill; the briefing wants to hear your version of events."

Pepper looked down at herself. The Air Force sweatsuit hadn't gotten any more impressive in the light of day. "What is my version of events?"

"Tony told them that you didn't crawl out of the wreckage until after he'd killed Killian."

Pepper pushed herself to her feet. "So I didn't see anything."

"Plausible deniability never hurt anyone. Do you need me to come out there?"

"No, I'll make do." Pepper walked to the bathroom to look for a comb; her hair was a mess, certainly not the impression she wanted to make on a Christmas Day gathering of generals and admirals. "Will Hill say anything? If she's seen the footage?"

"No, Maria knows when to stay quiet." Natasha coughed, then said something away from the phone. "I have to go," she said when she came back on the line. "If you need anything, call me."

"I will." Natasha hung up before Pepper could say thanks.

Pepper finally located a comb in the back of a drawer and set about combing out her hair. The knots were frustrating to get through, and by the time she was done, her hands were glowing and the plastic of the comb was starting to smoke. Angry at herself, Pepper dropped the comb in the sink and turned on the faucet to cool the plastic down.

Fine. If she wasn't going to cry, then she was going to be angry. She'd been kidnapped and experimented on, her house had been blown up and all her possessions destroyed, and now she was being call upon to go lie to a bunch of four-star military men.

She was perfectly justified in being angry.

Staring at her reflection in the mirror, Pepper said out loud, "I survived yesterday. I'll survive today."

It didn't make her feel any better, but at least she didn't feel any worse.

Twisting off the faucet, Pepper took a deep breath. She was Pepper Potts, and she was not going to let Aldrich Killian or Extremis change that.

And now, she had work to do.

Chin up, Pepper turned to face the day.

_end_


End file.
